Johnnie, Jazz & Whisky, Afropunk 2019: Here are the top 10 events we loved in August

The month of August was brimming with events that spanned from music to film and culture, most notably the Johnnie Jazz & Whiskey concert in Lagos that saw famed masked singer Lagbaja perform in live since forever, and the private screening of the Vimbai Mutinhiri and BET documentary on women (mostly) surgically enhancing their bodies to look beautiful. Because we can’t include everything, we carefully selected and ranked the events that made an impression:

10. Second edition of Love & Pint

The first edition of Love & Pint in 2018 warmed our hearts with the encouragement of the deep compassion for humanity shown by many youths that came out in their numbers to voluntarily donate 242 pints of blood for the care of children living with sickle cell disease and cancer. The second edition held at the Landmark Beach on August 10, with side attractions like live performances, games, graffiti and more.

In early August, Juliet Ibrahim held an event to mark the release of her memoir titled, A Toast to Life. The book is a deeply personal narrative of her triumph over adversity faced at different stages in her life, and her journey to true self-love.

Only recently did D’banj return from his hiatus, releasing a single and announcing a reality TV that would curate his experience in the music industry as entertainment. Last night, he took his Koko Concert to the 02 Academy, one of London’s leading music venues, nightclubs and theaters situated in Brixton, South London, England.

Photo: Bella Naija

The Koko Concert, a nomenclature formed from his early hit Koko and kickstarted in Nigeria as a branded concert for D’banj, has been one of the most anticipated shows held in the 02 Academy with a sold-out crowd. In 2010, Mo’ Hits All Stars brought The Koko Concert to Lagos and D’banj belted out energetic performances that kept the audience screaming and wanting for more.

7. Documentary Film Festival by the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria

The US Consulate in Nigeria launched its inaugural 4-day Documentary Film Festival from August 19th to August 22nd, 2019 in Lagos, bringing award-winning contemporary American documentaries, independent narrative films, and storytelling know-how to its audiences in order to highlight the value of film in fostering understanding and cooperation.

Photo: Bella Naija

6. Ghana’s Golden Movie Awards 2019

The Golden Movies Awards is an annual award that celebrates outstanding achievement in African television and film. The 2019 edition of the event was held recently at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel on 24th August 2019, and it paraded a lot of Ghanaian celebrities and stars.

Photo: Ghana Star News

5. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s public lecture at the Shanghai Book Fair

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was recently a guest speaker at the Shanghai Book Fair, China, and the renowned author has perfected the art of attending high-profile occasions while also curating her looks on her Instagram.

4. Private screening of The Vimbai.com and BET Original documentary’ Killer Curves: Bodies to Die For’

Media personality Vimbai Mutinhiri and her platform The Vimbai.com collaborated with BET to have the private screening of original documentary Killer Curves: Bodies to Die For at the FilmHouse Cinemas, Lekki. The documentary was chilling, and generated conversations on body augmentation, black market surgeries, silicon butt injections, and body positivity.

Photo: Vimbai Mutinhiri/InstagramPhoto: YNaija

3. Afropunk 2019!

The 2019 Afropunk Brooklyn was held at Commodore Barry Park on August 25, 2019, in New York City. The Afropunk Festival (commonly referred to as Afropunk or Afropunk Fest) is an annual arts festival that includes live music, film, fashion, and art produced by black artists.

Burna Boy is having an excellent 2019 and following the release of his fifth studio album African Giant, he’s been enjoying a whirlwind of foreign media exposure. He hosted an album release party in Lagos after launching his new project in Los Angeles, New York, London. In attendance were celebrities like Bovi, Toke Makinwa, Tiwa Savage, Seyi Shay, Sound Sultan, DJ Neptune, DJ Jimmy Jatt, DJ Sose, Zlatan, Dadaboy Ehiz, and Akah Nnani.

Photo: Bella Naija

1. Johnnie, Jazz & Whisky (Lagos)

The Johnnie Walker whiskey brand has always been seeking ways to gain pop cultural omnipresence, this it did last with the last season of Game of Thrones by showing the premiere and finale with infectious fanfare. This August, Johnnie Walker announced Johnnie Jazz & Whiskey, a city-spanning musical concert that started in Abuja, Port Harcourt and other Nigerian cities and stopped at Lagos on Saturday.